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Upgrade Your Life with These Self-Help Books

These 5 books are for every kind of personality

By Tarun GuptaPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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Upgrade Your Life with These Self-Help Books
Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

Despite being under constant scrutiny, self-help books are not entirely bad. The key lies in finding the good ones. I know it is analogous to finding Waldo. It might take some time, but you eventually find him. But finding self-help books that are actually going to help you depends entirely on what you want to improve?

It comes down to the author's credibility, how it varies from the common-sense advice, how much of their personal experiences the author shared, how they used their own advice, and what the people who left bad reviews say.

If any book fulfills all the above criteria and meets your requirements, then feel free to pick up the book and get started on improving yourself.

Being an avid reader and a person who is always looking for improvement, I have read a lot of books (not only self-help) over the years. Some self-help books were simply excellent; some were not so much. However, I tried to finish them all to see if they lead me anywhere in the end.

The following five books have definitely made an impact on my life. Therefore, I am sharing them with you because they have the potential to help anyone.

Let's dive into the list.

1. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think - Laura Vanderkam

There are 168 hours in a week. This is your guide to getting the most out of them.

Source: Goodreads

This book is for people who want to understand and recognize where their time is spent. It teaches you to consider one week at a time as 168 hours instead of thinking one day at a time.

Indeed, there are certain things that you don't do daily but weekly. Accommodating these tasks can become quite challenging if you are working every day. Laura teaches you how to navigate your time better and understand the lapses that are left unseen when life is lived one day at a time.

What did I learn?

The book has a spreadsheet attached to fill in what you are working on. Laura encourages you to note down what you are doing for at least two weeks and notice the gaps or underutilized times. I used the spreadsheet for four weeks straight.

I realized that between tasks I used to spend scrolling through social media or watching an episode of a show on Netflix. Throughout the week, when totaled, both the things combined came to be more than 15 hours. This time was on top of my intentional entertainment time. This was an eye-opening realization.

2. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World - Cal Newport

Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.

Source: Goodreads

This is the best self-help book I have read so far in my life. Cal Newport takes you through the journey of influential historical figures to establish that we are slowly losing touch with our inner-self in this growing age of digital technologies.

Cal instills the ideology of spending time alone with your thoughts to deal with inner emotions and conflicts better. He showcases methods on how you can use your leisure time better that allow you to grow. He ascertains the negative sides of social media throughout the book with credible sources.

What did I learn?

The most critical lessons from this book for me are:

1. Spend time alone with your thoughts without any distractions.

2. Cultivate high-quality leisure activities - Activities that engage my mental faculties, help me grow as a human, and provide inner peace.

3. Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered - Austin Kleon

Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It's about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time "networking."

Source: Goodreads

This is a short book filled with illustrations, quotes, and wonderful notions. One of the most essential things Austin tells us about creators is that "No idea is original." He dives into details with the fact that every idea has some version of it already present in the world. It means that creators need not fret about coming up with original ideas. Pick an idea, put your twist on it and run with it.

Another important aspect of being a creator he talks about is to be confident in your skin is by putting out your work. He says, "It is not self-promotion, but self-discovery." He debates that by showing your work, you are allowing external eyes on your work and then improve based on your feedback. Nobody achieved growth by creating something and then putting it in the drawer.

Furthermore, he talks about how creativity is a long-term game. Stick around with your work even though nobody appreciates it. Sooner or later, either you will improve your work that people will understand it or find people interested in the work you are doing.

What did I learn?

Throughout reading the book and further down the line, I developed a habit of showing up consistently with my work. I was sharing whatever I was writing over social media. I experimented with different forms of content I can show up with to see what works. It is still ongoing, but I am getting better, and I hope to keep getting better.

4. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive, and Others Die - Chip Heath, Dan Heath

In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier.

Source: Goodreads

The entire book is filled with anecdotal and authentic stories on making your ideas stick and be successful. Chip and Dan present many comparisons between ideas presented in different ways to make you understand why one way sticks better with people than the others.

The crux of the book is the expansion of the word SUCCESS:

S - Simple

U - Unexpected

C - Credible

C - Concrete

E - Emotional

If your ideas have all the above properties, they the chance of them being sticky in people's head becomes exponentially higher.

What did I learn?

Before presenting anything to anybody, be it an idea or a story or anything else, I run the content through the above checklist. I share it with the world only if it checks all five boxes.

5. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions - Johann Hari

Across the world, Hari discovered social scientists who were uncovering the real causes - and they are mostly not in our brains, but in the way, we live today.

Source: Goodreads

This book talks about the real causes of depression rather than talking about the reasons that society tells you. Johann shares his own experiences of depression throughout his life, especially during childhood. He shares his experiences of talking with people who overcame depression to find out the things that worked.

The most important discovery in the book is that the cause of depression in most cases is loneliness, and the cure is finding a community that understands you.

What did I learn?

I had picked up the book when I was going through depression myself. This book helped me navigate the depression better by assuring me that I am not depressed because of me but because of my surroundings. I learned the value of community and strived to find one who can understand me.

Also, reading the experiences of so many people made me feel less alone in the journey. I understood that if they could overcome depression, then I can too.

Key Takeaways

* 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think - Laura Vanderkam

You should read this book if you feel there are voids of time in your days where you have no idea what happened.

* Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World - Cal Newport

You should read this book if you struggle with the increase of digital technologies especially social media, in your life and want to overcome them to become a better human for yourself.

* Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered - Austin Kleon

You should read this book if you lack confidence in sharing your work with the world.

* Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive, and Others Die - Chip Heath, Dan Heath

You should read this book if you want to learn to make your ideas survive and stick with people.

* Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions - Johann Hari

You should read this book if you have ever experienced depression yourself or if any loved one of yours has. It will indeed teach you a better understanding of depression and how to navigate it better.

Self-help books are valuable only if based on personal experiences. You should vary of self-help books that talk about cliches and common sense. Instead, pick books that can actually make an impact on your life. I know it is subjective to everyone, but a little research about a book before picking it up would never hurt.

Remember putting any book through the criteria I mentioned at the beginning of the post. It will surely make the process easier to disregard a book.

Finally, I can assure you that the five books that I mentioned are really worth reading.

Thank you for reading. 

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About the Creator

Tarun Gupta

A simple fellow writing stories, sharing experiences, sharing his perspective, trying to do his share of humanity.

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